Blockchain Pilot Program to Be Tested By Major Healthcare Institutions

A string of prominent healthcare organizations such as Humana, MultiPlan, Quest Diagnostics, UnitedHealth Group’s Optum and UnitedHealthcare have announced their plans for a joint blockchain pilot program, aiming to cut unnecessary spending and ensure faster data processing.

The official press release states:

“Providing consumers looking for care with accurate information when they need it is essential to a high-functioning overall healthcare system.”

The project’s adoption is also expected to substantially improve accessibility and accuracy of medical data. Officials claim that the platform solves “a critical, complex and difficult issue facing organizations across the healthcare system.”

At present, healthcare systems function by holding separate copies of data. Just maintaining provider data alone costs the industry $2.1 billion every year. It’s costly and it’s not fast enough, so it’s only a matter of time before the obsolete system will be replaced.

The aims of the project are to lower the price of medical services by eliminating unnecessary administrative costs and to increase the reliability of medical data.